Irish diabetics warned insulin cartridge holder in some Novo Nordisk pens could crack or break if exposed to certain chemicals

Novo Nordisk has confirmed certain batches of the NovoPen Echo and NovoPen 5 insulin pens distributed in Ireland have been affected

By Claire Healy

5th July 2017,3:43 pm

Updated: 26th September 2017,2:51 pm

DIABETICS have been warned that the insulin cartridge holder used in certain insulin pens could crack or break if exposed to certain chemicals.

Novo Nordisk has revealed that certain batches of the NovoPen Echo and NovoPen 5 insulin pens distributed in Ireland have been affected – and could break if exposed to chemicals in commonly used cleaning agents.

People who use the pen are urged to contact the brand to get cartridge holders replaced immediately.

They are told not to stop treatment without consulting a healthcare professional and to be attentive to their blood sugar levels.

Damage could cause the insulin pens to deliver a smaller dose of insulin than is required.

But the risk of hyperglycemia as a result of an affected cartridge holder is estimated to affect one in 1,000 patients.

The brand said: “Using a device with a cracked/broken cartridge holder can result in the device delivering a smaller dose of insulin than expected leading to high blood sugar levels.

“The risk of experiencing high blood sugar levels with the use of a device with an affected cartridge holder is evaluated to be less than 0.1 per cent, i.e. less than one in 1000 patients will experience high blood sugar levels due to an affected cartridge holder.”